DRIVING THE DAY

AWKWARD: Theresa May will chair a meeting of her Cabinet this morning. It may not be the happiest of gatherings. Sitting around the table will be:

— Her first secretary of state, Damian Green, who is under investigation by the Cabinet Office over allegations, which he denies, that he made unwanted advances towards a young Tory activist and had “extreme” pornography on an office computer.

— Her foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, whose latest verbal blunder could see a British citizen spend a further five years in jail in Iran.

— Her chancellor, Philip Hammond, who she planned to sack five months ago and with whom she reportedly can hardly bear to share a room.

— Her new defense secretary, Gavin Williamson, whose promotion from chief whip last week following the resignation of her disgraced ally Michael Fallon sparked more fury among her parliamentary party than any Cabinet appointment in recent memory.

— Her Commons leader, Andrea Leadsom, who is accused in today’s Mail and Telegraph of failing to act on a rape claim by a Tory aide, and by some of her own colleagues of ending Fallon’s career in order to save her own. She too denies all the charges.

— Her international development secretary, Priti Patel, who went behind her back to hold secret talks with a string of senior Israeli politicians and a Tory donor — and then tried to mislead the press when she got found out.

— Her party chairman, Patrick McLoughlin, whom most of her party want fired for his handling of both the disastrous general election and last month’s conference security fiasco.

The backdrop: As if you could forget, while grappling with all of the above May and her team are also trying to navigate Britain through its most tumultuous geo-political, economic and legal restructuring since the end of World War II, with barely a year left to strike a Brexit deal. There is a budget to deliver later this month that is expected to somehow tackle the housing crisis, relieve the strain on indebted young people and low-income families on welfare, while also continuing to reduce the budget deficit. She must do this in a parliament gripped by its worst sleaze scandal for almost a decade, and with half a dozen of her MPs under investigation and one of most trusted Cabinet ministers already forced out. And she must do it with no Commons majority to drive change.

New week, new scandals: In normal times Patel would surely have been fired for her extraordinary freelancing in Israel. But in the current climate it seems a personal reprimand from the PM and a humiliating public apology — in which she all but admits she misled the press — will suffice. Johnson has not apologized, but his future may yet depend on the impact his comments have on the fate of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. The Times reports “senior Conservatives” have told No. 10 they will publicly call for him to quit if he does not “issue a retraction.”

Feel sorry for: International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, who is doing the morning media round today for the government. If he’s lucky, he may even get to answer one or two questions about his new Trade Bill.

Saving grace: Parliament goes into recess this afternoon — meaning May does not have to face Prime Minister’s Questions tomorrow.

The other scandal: At a short meeting in No. 10 last night, the Westminster parties agreed a series of measures designed to address the sleaze scandal. But prominent Labour MPs including Jess Phillips and Stella Creasy have already criticized the agreement for not going far enough. The Guardian’s Heather Stewart has a decent write-up of what went down.

Jaw-dropper of the day: Harvey Weinstein employed spies and private investigators — including ex-Mossad agents — to track actresses and journalists as they investigated accusations of sexual assault against him last year, Ronan Farrow reveals in the New Yorker.

Now read this: Writing in the i today, Conservative Home’s Mark Wallace says MPs bullying their staff is the next big scandal waiting to break.

Think positive:Writing in the Telegraph, former Tory leader William Hague tells May she can still turn it around. He says a well-received budget followed by a series of positive policy announcements, a Brexit breakthrough in December and then a New Year reshuffle could transform May’s fortunes.

Or not:Writing in the Times, Rachel Sylvester says the harassment scandal “will surely hasten the departure of a prime minister who is already presiding over a party split from top to bottom over Europe and a government … in office but not in power.” She tips Amber Rudd as the only serious contender untainted by recent events.

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MEANWHILE IN BREXIT

TRADE TALK: The U.K. government will lay its new Trade Bill in the House of Commons today, with a Customs Bill to follow “shortly.” In a statement released overnight, the Department for International Trade said the new bill will “create powers to assist in the transition of over 40 existing trade agreements between the EU and other countries” and “establish a Trade Remedies Authority to defend U.K. businesses against unfair trade practices.”

Italian job: David Davis flies to Rome today as the U.K. government’s charm offensive of EU27 capitals continues. The Brexit secretary will hold talks with Italy’s Europe Minister Sandro Gozi as part of a concerted effort to influence the EU27’s internal talks on post-Brexit trade and transition deals. There are further EU27 meetings in his diary later this week before he arrives in Brussels on Friday for the conclusion of the latest round of Brexit talks.

One to watch: Davis has been told by Commons Speaker John Bercow he has until close of play today to hand over his department’s 58 Brexit impact assessments. Bercow wants the documents delivered to the Commons Brexit committee before parliament goes into recess this afternoon — or else a DExEU minister must come to the Commons to explain. The Commons order paper shows Davis will make a written statement to parliament today titled “EU Exit — Sectoral Analysis.”

Brexit diary: The government’s Auditor General Amyas Morse gives evidence on the civil services’ ability to cope with Brexit before the Commons public administration committee at 11 a.m. … Senior officials from the CBI and the TUC discuss the impact of a no-deal Brexit before the Lords EU committee at 4 p.m. … Former Foreign Office Permanent Under-secretary Simon Fraser discusses Britain’s future foreign policy at a Chatham House event at 6 p.m.

Brexit health check: A no-deal Brexit would “do serious damage” to the NHS, health charity the Nuffield Trust concludes today. The Sun has the story here; Read the full report here.

TALKING TAX

PARADISE GARAGE: F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, global corporations Apple and Nike and the stars of BBC sitcom Mrs Brown’s Boys are the focus of the latest revelations from the Paradise Papers leak. The story shows no sign of losing traction, splashing in five national papers today: the Guardian, the Times, the Sun, the Mirror and the i. But the Mail and the Telegraph go in hard instead on Labour, accusing the party of hypocrisy and highlighting the party’s office rental deal with a firm in Jersey.

Speaking of hypocrisy: The FT’s Jim Pickard has a nice scoop this morning: Parliament’s own pension fund for MPs has £6.6 million invested through a Jersey-based unit trust, and a further £6 million invested in famously tax-efficient web giants Amazon, Google and Apple.

Unwise: Interviewed on Channel 4 News last night, the former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Oliver Letwin said the duchy’s administrators had been “unwise” to invest the queen’s cash offshore. “I think it was at least sort of unwise to be investing in an area which is so controversial. It is quite important to keep the monarchy out of that,” he said. “I’m absolutely certain that Her Majesty had not the slightest idea there were these kinds of investments. I feel pretty sure that if anyone had have asked her, she should have said that it was better not to be there … As a matter of appearance I think it’s wrong to have the duchy involved.”

TODAY IN WESTMINSTER

SCOOP: REVOLVING DOOR UPDATE. Former International Development Minister Grant Shapps has landed a second job … in international development. The Welwyn Hatfield MP will work as a paid adviser to London firm Avanti Communications as it installs satellite broadband services across sub-Saharan Africa. Avanti is already involved in several U.K. government projects, and Shapps’ former brief covered digital services — but he insists he never dealt with the firm directly while in office. Commons watchdog ACOBA has now warned him “there is a risk you could be seen to offer Avanti an unfair advantage as a result of the contacts you have gained during your time in office.” But it has nonetheless waved the appointment through with the usual caveats.

COMMITTEE CORRIDOR: Scotland Yard chief Cressida Dick is the star turn today, appearing before the Commons home affairs committee at 4 p.m. … Also up earlier are the BBC’s Director General Tony Hall, his deputy Anne Bulford and Chairman David Clementi, who appear before the Commons culture committee at 10.30 a.m. … And Mid-Staffs Chairman Robert Francis and Royal College of Nursing boss Janet Davies, who head a strong cast of officials discussing NHS nursing numbers before the Commons health committee at 2.30 p.m.

UNIVERSAL CREDIT: A new report from foodbank provider the Trussell Trust says demand for its services soared 30 percent in areas where Universal Credit has been fully rolled out. The Department for Work and Pensions says the stat is “misleading.” Sky News has the story.

FOREIGN JAUNTS: Home Secretary Amber Rudd is in Washington D.C. today for discussions with tech firms about counter-terrorism and online child sexual exploitation … Treasury Secretary Liz Truss is in Brussels for a meeting of finance ministers to discuss the EU budget … Culture Secretary Karen Bradley is in India for the U.K.-India Year of Culture.

BUSINESS FESTIVAL: International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and Tory peer Baroness Michelle Mone are the star speakers at the Telegraph’s Festival of Business.

BEYOND THE M25

STURGE SAYS SORRY: Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will today make a formal apology on behalf of the Scottish government to gay men convicted of now-abolished sexual offenses. Her speech at Holyrood will coincide with new legislation giving an automatic pardon to those affected.

From Kentucky

MAN DOWN: Maverick U.S. Senator Rand Paul suffered several broken ribs after being attacked by his next-door neighbor in what appears to be a domestic dispute. See the police report here. The New York Times reckons a row over landscaping is behind the incident.

From Seoul

TRUMP TOUR: U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania arrive in South Korea today for the second leg of their Asian tour. CNN has a preview here. Trump will likely use the visit to send a fresh warning to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The U.S. president is due to hold a press conference with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at around 7.45 a.m. this morning U.K. time — watch this space.

From Sydney

GAY MARRIAGE: Voting closes today in a referendum on legalizing gay marriage. The Guardian’s latest poll had Yes out in front.

LONDON CALLING

Trains: No service all day on the London Overground between Wandsworth Road and Clapham Junction due to a faulty track, and no service on the District tube line between Parsons Green and Wimbledon due to a derailment yesterday. Full details.

Essential reading: The first major book on the 2017 general election is published today, written by POLITICO’s own Tom McTague and Bloomberg’s Tim Ross. “Betting the House” has already been well trailed in the Mail on Sunday, with eye-popping revelations including the leak of the BBC exit poll, an 11th-hour intervention from Barack Obama and the role David Davis played in forcing the election. Further extracts released last night show in tantalizing detail how May’s top aide Fiona Hill tried to water down the disastrous “dementia tax” policy, but was overruled by May herself. “I want to go with it,” the prime minister told her — with fatal consequences.

Politicos might like: A new six-part TV series starting tonight on BBC Parliament in which political columnist Steve Richards reflects on key moments in British politics from the past 40 years. “Turning Points — Unscripted Reflections” kicks off at 8 p.m. tonight with a program on the 1979 general election. There will be a new half-hour episode at the same time every night this week. Future shows will look at the formation of the SDP, the death of Labour leader John Smith, the 2008 financial crash, the 2016 Brexit referendum and the 2017 general election.

Launch night: The Guardian’s John Crace celebrates the launch of his new book of political sketches, “I, Maybot,” with an event at a City bookshop tonight. The book went on sale last week, and Crace will no doubt be amused to see it is already rated No. 1 best seller by Amazon … in its “Electronics & Communications Robotics” section.